A fresh perspective on the New England Revolution

Pregame: Chivas USA at New England Revolution, May 5, 2010

Tonight marks — aside from Cinco de Mayo — the finale of the Revolution’s three game homestand and the club’s second of eight matches in the month of May. The Revolution will again be without captain Shalrie Joseph, and will be missing some of the depth that could conceivably be helping in his void as well. Some thoughts with the match set to start at 7:30 at Gillette Stadium:

-With Joseph Niouky suspended due to the red card he drew on Saturday night against FC Dallas, Mike Videira would have been a solid guy to play in his spot (some observers would argue that he’d be a better fit regardless, but I digress). Videira, though, will not participate in tonight’s match either; he is listed as out with an ankle injury. I’m expecting that we’ll see Marko Perovic slide over to that spot instead, and that Chris Tierney will take back the left wing spot he filled earlier in the season. Then again, with Kevin Alston questionable due to an illness, we may see coach Steve Nicol go with something in the 3-5-2 vein. “We have no choice,” Nicol told MLSsoccer.com‘s Kyle McCarthy. “We’ve got to be creative. We’ll just sort ourselves out.”

-Forward Kheli Dube is also going to be out tonight, having also been given a red on Saturday. This too will have an effect on the lineup. Look for either Kenny Mansally or Edgaras Jankauskas to draw the start, or perhaps for Perovic to move up front — but I don’t see the midfield depth to allow for that. Dube scored once last season against the Goats. Emmanuel Osei will also be missing for a fourth straight match.

-LA’s second club will also be missing a key player. Midfielder Michael Lahoud was suspended two games for a rough tackle on Justin Mapp in the club’s surprising 1-1 draw against the Chicago Fire.

-Revs’ keeper Preston Burpo is formerly of Chivas, having played 22 games for the club between 2006 and 2007. Having already seen the Colorado Rapids earlier this season, this is Burpo’s second match of the season against a former club; this brought his season total to 23, good for third in the league. Burpo’s coming off of a match wherein he posted a career high ten saves. For their part, the Goats are probably just relieved not to see Matt Reis, who is on the disabled list. In his career, Reis has posted against them a 5-3-2 record and a 0.90 GAA.

-The homestand, ending tonight, is the club’s longest of the season. As such, a victory is very important — so far, the Revs have collected only one point since its start.

-Catch the match on Comcast SportsNet New England or 98.5 the Sports Hub.